Before I continue, I should clarify that this is related to the "something I'm not able to verbalize yet" that I mentioned the other day, so I still may not be able to put everything I'm trying to say into words.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, this is what He taught them. (This is the prayer I learned as a child -- I'm not sure what version it is):
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
The importance of "hallowed be Thy name" was one of the first lessons the Lord gave me when I returned to a deeper relationship with Him:
Praise Him, yield to Him, and lift Him up daily.
This opens our hearts to Him, allowing Him access to our minds, hearts, and wills. If we are not in a daily "hallowed be Thy name" relationship with God, the relationship is not functioning as He intends.
Now, another lesson -- Thy will be done. This is an exchange: my will must die; His will must replace it. Until as recently as last week, I saw this as a task. I knew the task was His to accomplish, and that my part was to surrender and obey, but I was having a lot of trouble with the "obey" part.
What happens when I fail? I get upset with myself. Guilt sets in. This becomes a vicious cycle of endless self-blame and defeat.
Then last week, in that video I mentioned last time, I heard Beth Moore say this --speaking of our battle with trying to do what we ought to do, but failing at it:
"In the long term, you're going to do what you want to do."
My gut's first reaction was a sinking "Oh, no." If I keep doing what I want to do, I'm doomed to keep repeating the self-destructive cycle that's become so ingrained in me.
I'm so glad that wasn't the end of what Beth said. Oh, hallelujah, I'm so glad she kept speaking and explained that she had turned her self-destructive will over to Jesus, and He had replaced her "want to" with His "want to."
Does this sound obvious? Does it sound like a great idea, something all of us should put into practice?
Oh, it's so much more than that. This is the end of imprisonment. My chains have fallen off. I will continue to fail at things, of course. But now every day when I get up, one of the first things I do is ask Him to give me His own "want to" -- His will. My hands-on experience of seeing Christ's "want to" work its way into the patterns of my day is still in the embryonic stage. Yet the transformation has already begun.
"Thy will be done" isn't a nice wish, it's the gift of His own divine empowerment to accomplish the things He wants us to do, to His glory.
OK, maybe now I've come close to putting what I was trying to say into words. Thanks for listening.